New World Order

It’s Super Bowl week. I hated it last year, when it was all about the 49ers, so there’s no way in hell it will be enjoyable this year when it focuses on the Douchebags of the Northwest. If there’s another “event” somewhere in the world that better depicts the depravity and vapidness of the human spectacle, please don’t tell me about it. One is all I can avoid.

This is the one week of the year where the helmets come off and the brains leak out on the floor. If you’re looking for Jackass of the Year candidates, this is a good week to find one.

The 49ers coughed up two last year — Chris Culliver and Randy Moss. It was new territory for Culliver, but Moss is a serial jackass, who honed his crass in Minnesota, then took it on the road through Oakland, New England, Minnesota (again), Tennessee, and finally (one can hope) topped off his career by using this week to promote himself over San Francisco 49ers’ great Jerry Rice.

Culliver followed up his mouth melt down on radio with a melt down in the Super Bowl, then a melt down on Twitter, and finally finished off the worst year of his life by tearing his ACL in training camp and sitting out the rest of the year.

2013 was a tough year for the blogosphere. It was the first year since 2009 that Alex Smith couldn’t be blamed for anything. In fact, the only 49er related item involving Smith was a positive one, as he led Kansas City to the playoffs and bumped a 2014 third round draft pick up to a second rounder.

In the past, the dynamics in 49erville were simple: if a play worked, it was a good play call; if it didn’t work, it was Smith’s fault. If the team won a game, it was because of the defense. If it lost a game, it was Smith’s fault.

It was a clean, efficient system. Everyone knew which side of the equation to call home. The entire blogosphere was either pro-Alex or anti-Alex. Everything else was just so much furniture in the room.

As the 2013 season kicked off, no one knew who to blame any more. It was confusing. Old alliances broke down and new ones formed. When the team stumbled to a 6-4 start, reaching the point in the season that Ronnie Lott maintained was the time you knew what kind of team you had, two new candidates emerged to replace Smith as the lightning rods of dissent: QB Colin Kaepernick and OC Greg Roman.

While the team rallied to finish the season by winning its final six games, and two more on the road in the playoffs, the blog world settled quietly into its new system. There were no losses to test it with until the team finally came up short in the NFC Championship game. Then the fun began.

It’s doubtful the new system will ever reach the staying power and vehemence of the old Alex based system, but for the 2014 season, it will have to do.

And for the majority of bloggers they were even simpler: if a play worked, Alex made it work; if it didn’t work, it was a bad play call that even Alex couldn’t make work. If the team won a game, it was because Alex was brilliant. If it lost a game, it was coaching, receiver drop, o-line didn’t block, terrible play calling, head coach holding Alex back, defense let the other guys get back in the game, everybody quit except Alex, Alex tried to do too much and win the game on offense and defense, blah, not, blah, Alex’s blah, fault, yay Alex, our faultless Super Hero!!

Funny as posted though. As blind bias is funny. Good news too, with the way things are going under Zero, pretty soon you’ll be able to call the brown shirts on dissenters of anything PC, not just the Zero and his pets, like now.

Sam Wyche is out of pro football and is volunteering as the OC for a high school team where he lives in South Carolina.
I would like to see Kap get together with somebody like him
to refine the little things about being a QB. Well maybe not so little such as how you manipulate secondaries by turning your head and not to stare down receivers until you pull the trigger.
Because of the collective bargaining agreement the coaching staff cannot work with Kap until OTAs. That is why if he is serious he needs outside help like Wyche and somebody like Tom House.
I think Kap has the physical side covered and he doesn’t have to pump up anymore because he has all the muscles and then some. He has to go to school on what he’s seeing which is basic chalkboard work and having House work on mechanics and footwork.
IMO that’s how he’ll improve and earn the big paycheck.

I must’ve been out of town and missed it. Clue me in on where all those “The defense won it” moments were?
In Alex’s 15 years as starter, I seem to remember the Niners losing a lot. A lot a lot.
But I forget, we didn’t have a couple beasts on the D-line or Willis or Gore or nuthin.

Chuck always trolling for a skirmish?
As usual if you would learn to read Berger presented a smaller contract around $15 mil and what Lynch proposed.
You on the other hand wanted to pay Kap top dollar, salary cap be damned and roster be damned no matter his performance.
Just like the suckers that paid for Matt Flynn, Matt Schaub
Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez. All fat contracts and all riding the bench collecting paychecks and crippling their teams by taking up a huge chunk of the salary cap.

No, I’m trolling for morons. You are the one who wants to wait, Bullit. THAT is why Balt paid top dollar. Flacco won it all in his last year and they couldn’t reach an extension.Your plan all along seems to be to move on to Pea Shooter McCoy.

If the Niners wait, they WILL pay top dollar. Or he will go elsewhere. The numbers they work out will likely be around $18 mill if they can do the deal this offseason. But it could very well go up to $20 mill. If they wait, and Kappy wins the Super Bowl, hello $30 mill. Whether that’s us or someone else remains to be seen. But like I said all along, I think they work out a deal.

Chuck said $22 mil yesterday which was way over the top.
Any player that makes $30 mil when the salary cap is $120 mil
is all about money and doesn’t care who’s on his team and could care less about winning. That player doesn’t realize that other players on his team contribute but won’t get paid market value because his contract is obscene.
Take Flacco and the Ravens. Flacco has his contract but his weapons are limited and he can’t do it on his own as this past season has proven.
You paid for the kickass shiny race car but don’t have any money left over for the guts of the car, the engine.

i say pay kaepernick 150 mil per season and fire the rest of the team ! or we could trade him for alex smith and the two draft picks will be a bonus ! the added bonus would be seeing NOFEAR and DEL-B-DOWNER jump of the golden gate bridge on the 6 pm. news !
LOL

More Niner news trickling through the Super Bowl hype
Niners lose another coach, Peter Hansen who going back to Stanford to coach LBs. Hansen was listed as a defensive assistant
and was a junior assistant coach.

Maiocco says the Niners are likely to re-sign Boldin and Dawson.
“The 49ers have exclusive negotiating rights until March 8 with each of their scheduled free agents. The draft is a full two months later.” per Maiocco
“A source told CSNBayArea.com that it’s unlikely the 49ers will tender their restricted free agents, defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs or cornerback Perrish Cox. Last year, the right-of-first-refusal tender was $1.323 million. That’s too high for both players, but the 49ers could be interested in bringing back both players on minimum deals in free agency.”

You keep talking, Bullit, but you never address the issue at hand. If you think it’s prudent to wait for this season, and Kappy’s contract, to end, what happens?

The cap WILL go up this year. Somewhere around $127 million. Next year, $133? Whatever. Kappy will want top dollar if he doesn’t get an extension. Which means he’s gone. I don’t think he gives Jed a hometown discount if the Niners don’t show good faith and offer him an extension relatively soon.

I guess the question is, do you want to continue without Kappy, Bullitt?

Tom Brady is a top five QB who signed a contract that’s reasonable and helps the Pats put a better team on the field.
Brady understands. He’s making on average $15 mil per year and signed through 2017. He’s 36 so his next contract is when he’s 40 so this might his final contract.
Details
” Signed a five-year, $60 million contract. The deal is fully guaranteed, including a $3 million signing bonus and additional $10 million “signing” bonus in the first year. 2014: $2 million (+ $15 million in “signing” bonus payments), 2015: $7 million (+ $5 million “signing” bonus), 2016: $8 million, 2017: $9 million, 2018: Free Agent”

I already stated my position many times.
I would not commit long term and big money unless Kap shows marked improvement as a QB.
He has 2014 to show me and if I’m not certain I franchise him
at least in 2015. That puts him into his 5th year and if he hasn’t mastered being an above average QB he can walk.
I could give him market value dollars but the key would be I would not commit more than $25 mil guaranteed and spread it over six years.
I would also have a gentleman’s agreement that if he excels as a QB we can renegotiate in a couple of years. This takes some good faith but Kap needs to understand this is needed if he wants Boldin and Crabtree type talent to throw to or have a decent line to protect him.

The Jets you say?
Jest have commited big dollars to Mark Sanchez through 2017.
Why? Because Mark Sanchez is 4-2 in playoff games.
Sound familiar? Not going to fall for that BS for Mr Butt fumble.
The point you keep missing is a simple one.
Kap needs to improve his QB skills to get a big contract.
If he has another year like 2013 I would think about giving him a last chance by franchising him in 2015 to show me something.
No improvement he can go to the Jest or whoever to stupid enough to pay him what he’s not worth.

Would be a bigger shame if you went all in with Kap like the Jest did with Sanchez and then eat all the money you gave him.
Just a couple of months ago you were asking to cut Kap some slack because he was learning.
My point is wait until he’s finished learning and graduates before you give him the contract.
You don’t think the Texas want to take back that contract they gave to Schaub? It lasts through 2016 $66 mil of which $30 mil is guaranteed. Texan fans keep burning Schaub’s jerseys.
If Kap shows me improvement and consistency I’m willing to pay him market value.

Another interesting piece of news.
Cards hired Harold Goodwin last week to be their OC.
He was the Oline coach for the Steelers and the Colts.
Harold’s brother Jonathan is the Niners center.
There is speculation that this gives J Goodwin a choice to join his brother in Arizona.

My point entirely. Frachising him is the big kiss-off. Otherwise thay ARE going to pay big money to keep him. Which hurts the team in tghe end. Don’t you think they know this?

Thank God the team doesn’t feel the same way as you. They are making his signing a top priority. Why? Because paying him now is bettrer than paying him (or losing him) later. Not signing Kappy would lead to what? Signing a rookie and Vick?

Bullit- It doesn’t matter who was open when a fade route is called. It is a pre snap match-up read and the ball goes to only one spot. I rarely like that call because it doesn’t allow any room for error, but I will say if that ball is thrown one foot deeper it is a TD.

One thing I think we’ve learned with Baalke and Marathe.
They manage the talent and the budget very rigorously.
The call made to go with TBrock over TBrown is a perfect example.
We have this amount of Cap allocated to this position, accept it or shop your services elsewhere.

The Kaep argument will follow the same principles.
Negotiate early, get a feel for his expectations and Contract terms, then move ahead to Draft a viable contingency option if necessary.

Kaep being young and still developing allows for a longer termed Contract too.
You can foat any ‘Term’ number or ceiling price of the deal, just spread the guaranteed portion accordingly.
Marathe has been a very important part of this system since he was brought aboard.
Our dead money years were quickly and efficiently swept off the books under his guidance.

Rookie Cap changes will now allow the Roster to be strengthened as well with all the additional Picks Baalke has amassed.

For me, the NFL is all about having top flight evaluators and Cap Mgt expertise now.

Chuck I’m not worried about losing Kaep.
Har/Baalke Drafted him with the idea of making him the future at the QB position.
The only thing that hoses this process is Kaep’s Agent IMO.
No doubt in my mind Kaep fits here and, has what it takes to develop into a star.

My feeling is that they’d go into the Cutler vicinity as a starting point.

Cutler ain’t jacksh!t IMO but, that’s the Bears’ problem.
Numbers are numbers and the Cap is the process by which all things are measured of course.
Kaep knows what it means to have a supporting cast too.

Shazier would be a luxury
I think we are set at ILB with Moody and Wilhoite as backups and also Fleming coming off his injury. Just hope Bowman is the same
and recovers in time to play the last half of the season.
With both Dorsey and Jerod-Eddie playing well and beyond expectations we also seem to be set along the Dline.
Ian Williams coming back from injury and Carradine and Dial in their second year.Also developing Okoye and reports are he has picked up the game and might be worth a long look. Would be tempting if Nix or Hageman were there but that would meanletting a good player go and I would rather spend the picks on WRs and DBs as well as a center.

How does not signing Kap set the team back 4-5 years?
Again you’re Mr hyperbole just making stuff up.
The opposite is true. Making a mistake and signing a player to a long term contract with guaranteed money will cripple a team for the remainder of the contract that is guaranteed be it 2, 3 or 4 years.
Draft the right QB and he can be starting by the end of his rookie year and definitely in year 2 like Kap started.
Your reasoning and conclusions make little sense.

I agree Bullit –
Nix is one guy I’ve coveted but, I’m also beginning to see the light in regard to the type of Interior guys Fangio prefers.
I’ve always bought into the 3-4 needing a channel marker at the point.
I might be whistling past the graveyard in that regard?

Shazier could fit at the right price.
I’m on the fence on what happens with Iupati too.
What I’m most interested in obtaining from this Draft are WRs and DBs.
Anything else is for depth and future development.
It’s about a youth movement for me.

I can’t see Baalke making a splash move up in Rd 1 for a WR either.
Too risky IMO, to burn multiple Picks on such a make or break gamble liked that.
I’d take a shot on Nix or Hageman however.
I think there’s great talent at the DB position to get quality options into Rd 3, maybe beyond?

I’m softening on Jordan Matthews in favor of Davante Adams too.
The WR Group is crazy this year.
If Baalke sees Kelvin Benjamin as a can’t miss prospect, could he gamble?
I would have some reservations with him.
His body of work is too shallow for me.

That’s why I bring up Brandon Coleman from Rutgers.
He’s equal in size, more playing time, would come with a cheaper price tag too.

Wilhoite is still young, he’s likely a target to return too, especially in light of NaVorro’s injury.
For me, the LBs are the strength of this Defense.
Can’t have too many good backups IMO.
Ian, Dorsey and TJ-E are fine for now.
Gotta think about potential from Dial and Tank at this point.

Two WRs you mentioned earlier Jeff Janis from Saginaw Valley and Cody Hoffman BYU didn’t look draftable in the Senior Bowl.
Janis looked slow and overmatched as they had him as a return guy. Hoffman had one catch for 5 yds.
Just one game so we’ll see what they show at the combine.

I also agree that Sammy Watkins will be gone with the top ten picks. Unless he does something stupid at the combine or something negative comes out substance wise he seems out of reach for the Niners unless they go Julio Jones and trade a ton of picks for him.
Watkins older brother is a DB from Florida that might be a steal in the 3rd round. Florida has 3 DBs highly regarded and Roberson and Purifoy are getting all the attention.

When Goodwin was hurt for a few plays during one game Kilgore did not play center as expected per the depth chart.
Instead they inserted Looney there. Explanation was Kilgore was needed as one of the jumbo linemen on the flank.
Looney was inactive for all 3 playoff games.
If he is the future at center it is puzzling why Looney was only active for 4 out of a possible 19 games this season.
Spending a draft pick on a center in the third round should be a priority.

I still have hopes that Kilgore or Looney or both could become good players for us, but, yeah, we should draft a center this year. I’d also like a tackle as I’m not comfortable with the uneven play of Anthony Davis down the stretch. At least have a actual backup there, instead of planning on moving Boone if anything happens. Line play is too much chemistry and teamwork to patch a hole by shifting starters around. You could end up with two problems rather than one.

Grumpy- He is a possible scenario that seems realistic barring somebody we might draft.

Goodwin goes elsewhere and Snyder takes his place at C. Iupati might not be signable. Hate to lose him but we already tried to sign him to an extension and he didn’t bite. Boone kicks out to RT and Davis moves to OG. Looney, Kilgore or Bykowski fill the other OG spot.

Snyder is only signed through this coming season and is 32 years old. Putting him at center is a band aid fix for one year.
Hunter, Culliver and Miller are the guys that become free agents
after this coming season that nobody is talking about.
Not an easy job for Niner FO to try to keep all these guys when the money to spread around is tight.

Sorry you don’t get it either, Skeebs. My point is, if the Niners don’t extend Kappy’s contract soon, he will get a much higher offer elsewhere in the future.

If they wait out this and franchise him, you think his value goes down? No, it’ll skyrocket. Unless the team screws the pooch and he turns into Purple Drank and they go 4-12, his value will still be on the rise. The Niners will have priced themselves out of his services.

Chuck, not only do I get it, but so does everyone else in the universe. Kaepernick’s contract will be up next year and he needs to be re-signed. Duh. You act like you’re the only one in possession of this obvious truth. It’s the value you placed on signing him ($22 mil per) that generated opposition. And you’ve obviously backed off that point and are trying to pretend you never said it.

I just read that Kap was single handedly responsible for the 17 points that Niners got in NFC Championship Game.
It seems Aldon Smith doesn’t get any credit for stripping Wilson of the ball on the first play.
Dawson doesn’t get any credit for kicking the FG.
On his runs the offense gets no credit for all the blocks they made to spring Kap.
Iupati breaking his ankle while Dixon scored a TD.
Some people forget that football is a team game.

The ESPN analyst and former New England hard-hat linebacker revealed his All-Bruschi team in this piece. He recognized clutch, under-the-radar performers at each position. Boldin, a 33-year-old receiver who just finished a smashing first season with the San Francisco 49ers, made the team. In fact, Bruschi called Boldin, who the 49ers acquired in a trade with the Ravens last year, his team captain.

Here is what Bruschi had to say about Boldin:

Clutch. Pure Clutch. Ask the Baltimore Ravens what they missed this year and if the immediate answer is not Anquan Boldin, they’re telling a fib. Is he the biggest receiver? No. Is he the fastest receiver? No way. Is he the most valuable player you can have on a team? Absolutely! The 49ers think so. Boldin was the Bill Walsh Award winner, given to the team’s MVP. Boldin has been with the 49ers for one season and has already established himself as a leader and tone setter. It’s not just the 85 receptions, 1,179 yards and 7 TDs. He also blocks like a beast and gives the entire team confidence in knowing that when the ball is in the air and the game is on the line, Boldin will find a way to get the job done and put the team on his back if he’s on the field. He’s a two-time All-Bruschi selection. This is my captain. If I had a Boldin jersey, I’d be wearing it right now.

The 49ers agree with Bruschi. The front office, coaching staff and the players all quickly fell for Boldin. Bringing him back in free agency is a priority.

Wouldn’t be a bad idea to draft a RB with the 6th or many 7th
rd picks as insurance for Lattimore’s durability.
probably for 2015 when Gore will step away and the FO needs to give Hunter a new deal.
James Sims played for Kansas and was a productive RB and receiver out of the backfield. he is rated as a late round pick and might be a sleeper. His coach Charlie Weis says he’s a NFL quality back and his style is similar to Terrel Davis.
I’ll be following him at the Combine.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqo9mPOUsEM

Chuck we’re all in for Kaep.
It’s about Kaeps’ Agents’ expectations as well.

Comparing Flacco’s situation to Kaep’s may be premature.
I think Ozzie rolled the dice in Baltimore simply because Flacco was shy of expectations toward the end of his Rookie deal.

Kaep has shown more through his first 2 years then Flacco did.
Hard to know what Kaeps’ Agent is proposing as it’s not yet been publicized.

My guess, Baalke and his Agent will have preliminary discussions leading into the Draft, if it hasn’t already been done.

Baalke will need to test the expectations in order to have a contingency plan before he selects in May.
Baalke can always use the pending Draft class as a leveraging tool as well.
We might have a better understanding if Baalke goes high with a QB selection in May too.

I don’t think Kaep will get extended before the Draft but, anything is possible.

In 2 years, Kaep has made it to the SB and lost an NFCC game.
Excellent resume.
What also occurred was, 2 losses on final plays to Crabtree.

I can’t blame Roman entirely when Kaep decides to make those choices.
It suggests to me that Kaep isn’t giving consideration to other options.
It also suggests that he’s far from a finished product in terms of recognition skills.

With talk of Mangini being considered as a QB Coach, it tells me Kaep isn’t dissecting a Defense with his eyes well enough yet.
I’m not laying this at the feet of Kaep or Roman.

I’m simply saying our system is not functioning as thoroughly as it could be.
For me, Kaep working in the pocket is the major step that needs to occur.

And let’s be honest, our OLine is not built for pass protection either.
So, it involves a philosophy adjustment.
We’re a run first team needing balance from the passing game.
Perhaps it’s never going to be a pocket friendly option for Kaep either.

Baalke and Harbaugh have to refine, and tinker, to find what the missing ingredients might be.

Bullit –
Regarding Janis and Hoffman, that’s always the case with the smaller programs.
BMOC is always predicated on which Campus is involved.

Just as every kid playing in Alabama is considered higher on the food chain, not all of them can see playing time because the Rosters are so deep.
At least these small school kids get to produce and see playing time.
I all becomes an issue for development expectations from the Scouts and GM.

As was discussed with regard to Looney and Kilgore, this is why the Rookie Cap is so important.
Cheaper to Draft and develop than to overpay and get no ROI.

If Baalke sees any promise from guys like these, he’ll look for a bargain and see what he can develop.
Hence, the importance of acquiring those extra Picks.
Too many Picks don’t pan out.
Better to spend them in the bargain Rounds.

Agree Chancellor is a hybrid, a slightly bigger version of Tim McDonald with better cover skills.
Niners thought they were getting that when they drafted S Taylor Mays who is 6’3″ 225 lbs but Niners gave upon him and gave him to the Bungles. In 3 seasons with the Bungles Mays has started 4 games with minimal impact.
We all know his story.
Niners gave up on Mays within 2 years having drafted him because his measurables were off the charts which didn’t translate on the field. More athelete than football player lacking instincts is the book on him.

It seems that Michael Crabtree has new representation.
Eugene Parker and Maximum Sports Management no longer represent
Crabtree. Instead Crabtree is with pro Sports Group which might be workable for Baalke/Marathe in negotiations.
Parker is notorious for the using the holdout as a weapon of leverage evidenced last year with his most recent client Jarius Byrd of Buffalo.

If the Niners decide that Kilgore is their center he will be asking also for a new deal after 2014 as his contract is up.
Identifying a solid center in the draft and using at least a second day pick would be a backup plan.
You could also think outside the box and see how much Alex Mack would cost you. Most likely he’s too expensive but you can window shop and kick the tires.

With the mega contracts players are signing this is no longer a big deal but the NFL still pays players on a scale for participating in the playoffs
Wild-Card Round, Division Winner: $23,000 per player
Wild-Card Round, Wild Cards: $21,000
Divisional Playoff Game: $23,000
Conference Championship Game: $42,000
Super Bowl, Winner: $92,000
Winning a Super Bowl can max out at $180K per player but if you had a bye the max would be $157K
Super Bowl, Loser: $46,000

It may be a little premature, but it could very well play out exactly like Flacco if these guys don’t sign Kaepernick to an extension before the season rolls around. IT’s not like the Niners are going away.

All this blather being said, I think they sign him before training camp. They do not want to get this to the point of being a big distraction. It’s crazy that some folks don’t appreciate what Kappy brings to the table. They are more concerned with his fashion choices and his press dealings. Odd to say the least.

I wonder what Boldin is worth? 3/$18 for a 33 year old guy? Boldin turned down a $2 mill pay cut (from $6 mill to $4 mill) from brother John and was thus traded. Will he take a $1 mill pay cut from us and go 3/$15?

He says he wants to stay, but with the contracts they have to deal with soon (Iupati, Kappy, and Crabs to say the least) you have to wonder who doesn’t get paid. Maybe Kappy will take an incentive-laden deal without a huge cap hit.

Bullit if I’m a gambling man, I’d think Baalke stays away from any high priced FAs this off season.
Reason being, the needs of keeping our own talent from getting away.
Baalke and Marathe have stayed pretty firm on their dealings with respect to Cap budgeting.

Obviously, Kaep represents the lion’s share of our concerns.
As mentioned multiple times, Iupati is the guy I’m most on the fence about with regard to Cap concerns.
I don’t see them busting ranks on him.

For me, Aldon, Kaep and Crabtree would probably be of higher importance?
We’ll see.